The One Who Never Sees The Truth
by Arinum A
Summary: Carter loved Zia and she broke his heart. He desperately tried to get over, but he couldn't even check out another girl. That was until he met Kayla Montgomery,his best friend, who taught him how to love again. But they were never meant to be together. The Egyptian gods ordained for Zia to get with Carter. But will Zia see that Kayla was helping her all along?
1. Chapter I: Heartbreak Boy

**I really don't know how to do this author's note stuff. Well, please comment below and stuff! I mean, uh... constructive criticism is HIGHLY desirable. Well, I have nothing else to say but nothing is mine except the plot and the OCs. That's all, y'all.**

**Also, don't throw a fit when you realize I edited 5 Seconds Of Summer's Heartbreak Girl to suit the chapter. It's just a fanfiction and I only take credit of owning the storyline and the OCS.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter I: Heartbreak Boy

**KAYLA'S POV:**

I close my eyes and lean against the glass window. _This is it_, I think, _this is the big one._

I open my eyes and peer out of the window, staring at the lights far below, in awe. I begin humming 'New York' under my breath and the person sitting next to me gives me a funny look and shifts away from me.

The pilot came on and politely requests us to put on our seat belts, as we were about to land. I latch it on and continue to stare out of the window. We land (quite badly if you want my opinion. I swear; that pilot must have been _hella_ drunk to land the way he did. I mean who just falls out of the sky without tilting even a little? Well, if you're a helicopter, maybe, but an accursed jumbo jet? No, nobody does that unless they're drunk.)

I wait for everyone to leave the plane, like I always do. When they all get out, I stand up and pull out my backpack. I open it and check for my necessities; my passport, a clean set of clothes, my wallet with my money, my laptop, my phone and of course, my trustworthy garden shears. I pull them out from their secret compartment and give them a decisive 'snip'. (Don't ask how I managed to get a pair of shears from LAX to JFKA. Just don't.) I put them back and I begin walking through JFKA.

I'm Kayla. Kayla Montgomery. I was born in LA and lived there until I was 10. Then I was booted into the foster system, after my parents died. I was adopted and moved to Anaheim with my new foster parents, who I didn't like at all. My life was dreary and horrible until I found the eye of Horus, glowing in my locker…

"Miss… Montgomery?" asks an old lady working at the customs.

"Yes, ma'am?" I ask stiffly.

"You travelled alone from LAX?"

"Your point is?" I ask coldly.

She looks uncomfortable.

"We are looking for a girl around your age who came by herself."

My blood runs cold. No way was I going to go back to a place where I didn't fit in. my only chance of having friends like me isn't gonna leave that fast. And that, my friend, is the truth.

"Well, I came with my mom," I lie, "My dad's dead, so we don't have the same last name."

She looks sympathetic and then stamps my passport.

"So, where is she?"

"Mom, wait up!" I yell, running off.

I go to the baggage claim, rolling my eyes. Humans are despicable and easy to trick.

I walk out with my suitcase and backpack. It takes me a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I grab a taxi and give them directions to a place near the Brooklyn House.

In silence, I stare out the window, appraising the city. It is so different from L.A. and Anaheim.

And, what they say about the pigeons is true. There are way too many in the city. I've only been here for a minute and they're swarming above us, in the dozens.

The sun begins to slowly rise as the driver takes me to my destination.

He notices my interest in the outside and smiles at me through the rear-view mirror.

"Never been here before, have you darling?' he asks.

"No," I say.

"Brooklyn, is by far the best borough in the Big Apple," he says, "Though, I haven't seen so many pigeons in one place before."

That's when I started getting a bad feeling about the pigeons.

He stops the taxi. I pay him and climb out. He helps pull my luggage out and climbs back into his taxi.

"Good luck, darling," he says, going back, "You'll really need it!"

He speeds off, laughing maniacally, leaving me coughing in the acrid exhaust fumes. My eyes water and I wipe at them, trying to make sense of his words.

It takes me a couple of seconds and a bomb-dive (from an accursed PIGEON!) for me to realize what he meant.

They begin squawking outrageously loud and I begin panicking. I shove my suitcase aside and pull out my garden shears.

"Come at me, babe!" I yell, waving it at them.

They take up the challenge and bomb-dive again. I snap at their wings, and cut one off.

The wing disintegrates the moment it hits the ground. It leaves my garden shear green with blood.

"That," I mutter, "Is _not_ a pigeon."

I look around for a quick getaway scheme. I find one and begin pulling my suitcase along to an alleyway. I grab the red wagon and throw my stuff onto it. I start pushing it downhill, then when it finally gathers enough speed and I jump inside.

The non-pigeon pigeons squaw at me indignantly, as if they were jealous that they didn't get to go shooting downhill in a wagon. (I'm sorry you're a bird. I wish I could fly, but I don't get to do that either.)

They bomb dive again, but this time, most of them crash and disintegrate.

"Wahoo!" I yell, swerving dangerously to the left to avoid incoming cars. The non-pigeon pigeons are still pursuing me.

"Y'all don't give up, do you?" I remark sarcastically, as I careen to the other side.

I careen _too_ much to the other side because I crash and the wagon breaks. My suitcase breaks too. Clothes and books spill from the side.

My backpack is still intact, but I wish say the same about my shears. They're bent out of shape.

What about my body? Well, let's focus on the important things, first. (What? My laptop has 6GB of music. That will _not_ be deleted in _my_ lifetime.)

Angrily, I stand up and shake my fist at them.

"You wanna piece of me? Well, bring it on, buster! You just messed with the wrong girl! I'ma whoop your-"

Well, you get the drift…

They answer to my challenge by bomb diving again.

"Oh, shish kebab," I mutter, realizing what I've just done.

I kick my suitcase aside and begin running.

If they get too close, I hit them on the heads with the bent shears. (You have no idea how those things work. They're _heavy_.)

They break my shears. Sighing, I throw it aside, and they all attack me. Soon my hands are converted into bloody masses. They trying eating my head off, but I throw my hands up to cover them. I realize they're now targeting my backpack.

I swing out.

"Not my backpack, you glorified carrion beasts! Get away!"

I look ahead and see a familiar mansion. I nearly cry out due to the relief I feel at this moment- it's the Brooklyn House!

I run faster, yelling for help, as I get closer. When none comes out, I smack my forehead. The sun hasn't even properly risen yet. Who's awake at this ungodly hour?

I reach the door and begin banging on it.

"Help- get away, you bird! - open the door!"

I pin my back to it and flap my hands futilely at them.

Someone opens the door and I fall out on top of them.

"Sorry!" I say, grabbing an umbrella stand and throwing it at the birds. It hits one and it begins squawking as it falls and disintegrates.

I picture it was wailing "Mayday, mayday. Insane human female has shot me down." and I chuckle.

Then I know I have lost it.

The sun completely rises and shines on the birds. They shriek out and I realize they're pure black and the sun's beginning to burn holes straight through them. They turn into black smoke and disappear.

I relax and focus on the face above me.

"My suitcase," is all I can say, before I black out completely.

I wake up, my hands bandaged. I sit up and something slides off my face. I scream and throw it aside- only to realize that it's just an ice pack.

_Now that was embarrassing,_ I think.

I climb off the bed and suddenly feel very cold. I look down in horror and realize what I'm wearing- booty shorts and a camisole top. Where the heck are my clothes?

"I need to find my suitcase!" I wail, running out of the room. I thunder down the staircase and reach the landing. There's a boy with extra nappy hair going through my suitcase.

"Hey, you nappy-haired yak lookalike," I hiss, catching his attention, "Let go of the suitcase and no one gets hurt."

He looks at me and says, quite unapologetically:

"I'm going through your things to make sure that you have no inappropriate materials."

I glare at him.

"Are you serious?" I demand, "What the heck could I have brought that is considered inappropriate."

"This!" he says, pulling out one of my bras. I feel myself go very, very, _very_ red.

"So…?" I say, deciding to play it cool.

"I think I found an ingenious item that works both as a catapult and a weird strangulation thingy!"

"Uh, that's my _bra_, you idiot!"

He wails and tosses it aside. I catch it and look at him amusedly as he wipes his hands repeatedly.

He looks at me, left eye twitching.

"Hope that teaches _you_ not to _ever_ go through a girl's stuff again," I say, satisfied by his reaction.

"By the way, what's your name?" he asks, getting defensive.

"I'm Kayla. And you are…?" I ask.

"I'm Carter. _The _Carter Kane," he adds.

"Interesting, if I may say…" I reply sarcastically.

He glares at me.

"I'll have you know I'm in charge and I don't tolerate rudeness."

Yeesh, what is _up_ with this guy? I'm serious, he has to be partially insane to act like this to a girl he just met and he doesn't even know her last name.

"Neither do I, but you don't see _me_ threatening the new kids," says a blonde girl skipping in.

She smiles broadly and shakes my hand with both of her hands.

"I'm Sadie, Carter's younger and better sibling," she says. Then she blinks, "And why in the name of Horus do you have a bra in front of my brother?"

"It's his fault," I say quickly.

She laughs.

"I'm going out for pizza with Walt, so you'll have to show her around."

Then she pauses and looks at Carter.

"Zia thinks you're hot," she says, looking guilty.

"Really?" he asks self-consciously.

"Nah, Carter. April Fools!" she says running out.

I stifle a giggle. He gives me the stink-eye.

"What is up with your sister? Is Walt her boyfriend or something?"

"She wishes he was," he says, "She's probably so happy because they kissed or some other despicably lovey-dovey thing."

"Just like you wish Zia was your girlfriend?"

He freezes and looks at me with utter hatred.

"Let's go," he says icily.

I have the feeling I hurt his feelings so I keep quiet as he leads me around. I try to make him laugh, but it is to no avail.

"Most people find that joke funny!" I protest.

"Most people are fools of the highest order," he replies.

"You know what?" I say, stopping, "I'll get someone else to give me this tour. Good bye and good riddance!"

I stomp off to my room, angry at him and myself.

And it gets me wondering: why does he hate me so much? Or does the heartbreak hurt that bad?

No matter what, Mr. Heartbreak Boy has no right to be rude to me like that.

I realize I had forgotten my suitcase on the landing. I go and grab it and begin lugging it back. I hear slashing noises coming from one room so I open it.

I walk out onto a glass hallway, built on top of a gym. Carter's working out.

Not with weights or anything. I mean, he's fighting dummies with his crooked sword.

He's moving so fast it's impressive. I forget what I was doing, enthralled by the speed and the utter _beauty_ of the combat.

"I can see you up there, you weirdo!" he calls out, looking up and smiling. "Nice outfit. It shows your legs and arms to be very attractive."

I step back in horror, not believing what he just said.

"And, it shows more than just your legs," he says suggestively, waggling his eyebrows, "If you know what I mean."

"Carter Kane, you are the most despicable human I have ever met and you should be ashamed of yourself!" I yell down at him, "I thought you were a nice person but you're nothing but an idiotic creep!"

I march out, dragging my suitcase along. I pull on my normal clothes- my Chemical Romance tee, black skinny jeans, with the matching black high tops.

I sit on my bed, feeling angrier. I bunch up the sheets in my hands, nearly tearing them.

I'm going to get my revenge on Heartbreak Boy, even if it's the last thing I do.

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**Author's Note: So what do you think? Is it great? Is it bad? Do you like it?**

**Anyways, give me your reviews, please! I don't plan to embarrass myself by continuing if it sucks, you know. This is the first time I'm doing this, so yeah.**


	2. Chapter II: I'm Your Cure

**Author's note: Here's chapter two. I'm sorry for the cliffhanger- it was way too long and I had to split in half. I know I said that it would explain things, but there's more unanswered questions now. And don't worry about Carter being out of character, he'll be back to normal soon enough. Scout's honor (as if I'm a scout.)**

**Enjoy, guys! And review! I like criticism as long as you're not just being mean.**

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Chapter II: I'm Your Cure.

I tiptoe down the staircase, hungry. Everyone's asleep… everyone except me.

I missed dinner yesterday, because I fell asleep early. And there is no way I would sleep when I am starving like this.

I reach the kitchen and grab a plate. I slowly walk to the pantry….

I freeze. I can hear someone inside the room. This is _not_ going good.

Paranoia begins. I think of birds, crazy foster monsters, Mike from Monsters Inc. (you know, monsters in the closet?) I raise my plate, prepared to use it as a weapon and nudge the door open with my foot. I prepare to attack whoever is in the pantry, and then I relax. It's just Carter.

He has a bag of Doritos in his mouth, a box of frozen chickens under his arm and a plate of brownies.

"Hello, Carter," I whisper.

He yells and loses his balance. I grab the plate from him and pick up a brownie.

He quickly regains his composure.

"I see you have more decent clothing on," he says.

"Ha-ha, very funny," I say in a deadpan tone. Then I blink. He was just in a baggy t-shirt and boxers.

"I couldn't say the same for you though," I say.

He turns red. A box under his back catches my eye.

"Hey, what's-" I begin.

He hides it.

"It's nothing."

"It is _something_," I state, kicking it out, "Doggy biscuits?" I ask incredulously.

He doesn't reply.

"What are you, a puppy?"

I kick him his box.

"It's okay, _pup_," I say mockingly, "It's perfectly normal to eat dog food since you're just a puppy!"

"Don't call me that," he snarls.

"Make me," I retort. Oh, revenge is sweet! I add; "Pup," for good measure.

He bites his lip.

"Kayla, cut it out," he says, warningly.

"What are you gonna go all combat chicken man on me? Oops, I mean, combat _dog_ man!"

"You're not amusing," he scowls.

"Neither are you, my dear pup," I say.

"Don't call me that!" he yells, face red.

We begin yelling at each other. I stick my fingers in my ears and yell "PUP!" louder. He leans and shakes his finger at me, yelling something back.

Then the pantry door creaks open. We freeze.

"Are you fighting or…?" asks a woman's voice.

I look at the way we're standing. We're all up in each other's faces, standing way too close to comfort. I step back, and Carter drops his hand.

I blush and stand up and attempt not to look Sadie, the woman and the black boy who accompanied them in the eye.

"What happened?" she asks.

Both of us give biased explanations as to what happened.

She raises her hand. We both shut up.

"You need to stop fighting," she says, "Carter, I thought better of you.

"I'm sorry, Bast," he says, looking away.

"And, Kayla, kitten, - I mean, kid, you need to keep peace with Carter. Fighting isn't worth it."

I nod.

"Now apologize," Sadie orders.

"Sorry," we mumble to each other.

"Shake hands," she adds.

We shake hands.

"Hug each other!"

"You're pushing your luck, Blondie," I remark rather acidly.

She decides to shut up. They leave me and Carter inside, glaring at each other.

I take a bag of chips and a box of microwaveable pizza.

"See you later, pup, or better yet, see you never!"

I pour myself a cup of juice and put my pizza in the microwave. Meanwhile, Carter grabs a soda can and opens it.

Then, suddenly, he trips.

It spills in slow motion- so it seems to me. It flies in every direction, most of it landing on my shirt.

His hands fly to his mouth and his eyes widen.

"I'm so-"

I'm fuming.

"Save it for someone who cares, Kane," I snarl, "Because I sure don't."

I take my food and head upstairs. I bolt myself in my room and change my top.

I paid 90 bucks for this shirt! And it's signed!

Sighing, I throw it in my laundry bucket and sit on my bed.

The score's uneven, once again. It's; Carter- 2, Kayla-1. Not exactly how I'd like it to be, you know.

I finish the food and go to the laundry room with the dirty clothes. I drop it inside the washing machine and go back to my room to take a bath.

Then I see an item wrapped up that looks strangely like a very dangerous weapon, with a sticky note on it.

_Use on girls who like Walt. It'll disfigure their faces, for good._

I gasp, in horror.

It was going to be a _very_ long night.

I make myself breakfast and begin walking to the dining room. I get lost and end up in the hall. I sigh. This place was big- I'd waste time looking for the dining room. Might as well just sit here and eat.

I see the black boy I met last night playing basketball one-on-one with a baboon. They're using the statues as hoops! Isn't that defilement or something?

I know that sounds wrong, but the baboon is really good for an animal. And that's the truth!

I finish the cereal and stand up.

"Hey, can I play?" I ask.

"Sure," the boy says, "Play on my team- Khufu's way too good to have someone else."

I nod.

"I'm assuming Khufu is the baboon," I say.

He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly.

"No, Kayla, I'm Khufu. Of course Khufu's the baboon! I'm Walt."

Walt starts from outside. He passes it to me and runs across the court. I dribble slowly, fake a left, but throw a right instead. Walt leaps and catches it. He shoots and scores.

"You're pretty good," he remarks.

"Thanks," I say.

Khufu begins, but I sidle past him and steal the ball. I throw backwards and catch Walt unawares. He yelps and catches it.

"Shoot!" I yell, running away from the crazy baboon.

He throws it back to me.

"Not to me, silly!"

I catch it and dribble to the left. Khufu follows me, but he doesn't see it coming when I throw it back to Walt who scores again.

Khufu snarls and beckons at one of the kids watching us to come and join him.

They start, but Walt snatches the ball from the other kid so fast, the kid is standing there, looking confused.

Laughing, he shoots from where he's standing.

"You should let me score," I complain.

He salutes me.

"Will do," is his ready reply.

Soon, Khufu has five kids against me and Walt. I shake my head when Khufu scratches Walt. This is why it isn't smart to play with a baboon. It'll attack you, eventually.

Walt is great teammate. He intuitively knows what to do when I take a step. And, that is an asset.

And I like that! I'd probably fall for him, if I didn't fear losing my face to Sadie's flamethrower. I like my face the way it is right now.

I dribble to the right, in pursuit by a ten year old girl. I throw it beneath my right arm. Walt stops it and dribble to the other side. He passes it back to me. I shoot and score.

Khufu gives up then. He throws the ball, angrily and yells: AGH! Then he runs off.

I walk around the room, hi-fiving the kids. They smile broadly, all saying the same thing.

I nearly hi-five the last one, but I stop. My smile melts off. I look Carter in the eye.

"Liked my game, pup?' I ask softly. He nods, but his mocking eyes say otherwise. But I don't wait for a comment. I leave.

Sadie sits me down in the living room and pulls out a handwritten sheet.

"You're going to have to pick lessons to do," she says, "You don't have to pick a path to follow until the end of the week, so you can do all the lessons to find one you like. After you pick a path, you will get to do two lessons you choose. See you later!"

I check the list. It looks something like this:

_Lesson: Teachers: Time: Combat 101 Carter 8:00 am. _

_Basic Magic Sadie 9:00 am _

_Napping 101 Bast 9am- 3pm_

_Shabti Carving Walt 10:00 am _

_Doing Absolutely Nothing In (sadly) Sadie 11:00 am  
The Library but Reading Musty  
Old Scrolls That Smell Like  
Stinky Underwear._

_Healing Jaz 12:00 pm_

_Sympathetic Magic__ Sadie 2:00 pm_

_Magic Problem Solving 101/ Carter 3:00 pm Whatever Works _

_Advanced Cat Grooming Bast 4:00 pm_

_NB: Carter's lessons take place in the gym, Walt's in the kitchen, Bast's in the living room, Sadie's in the hall and Jaz's in the infirmary._

I smack my forehead. Just my luck, isn't it? I was gonna to be stuck with Heartbroken Puppy again.

But, maybe that was a good thing. I have a bone to pick with Carter.

Folding it neatly, I put it in my pocket and head for the gym.

"So here's the thing," Carter says, looking at us, "Welcome to Combat 101, taught by me-"

"Duh," I say loudly, getting a laugh from all the other kids. He glares at me and then continues.

"Anyways, this is pretty much for hands-on self-defense. We sorta do this in Whatever Works, but this mainly depends on you using a weapon, instead of thinking on your feet. What I teach here- I teach you not to think- just to act."

I listen. So that's his secret- no thinking, just acting. That's interesting.

"I have three other rules- one: always have weapons ready."

He grimaces and pulls at thin air. His hand disappears and he pulls out a crooked sword.

"I usually pull mine from Duat. But we have quite a few weapons on the table, suitable for everyone."

I drag myself forward and kneel, looking at the weapons.

"No garden shears?" I ask disappointedly.

"Garden shears?" everyone asks.

"What?" I ask, "Can't a girl have a choice weapon without people looking at her funny and judging?"

They don't reply, so I naturally assume she can't.

"There's one outside in the shed near the garden," Carter offers helpfully.

"Thanks, pup!" I say, opening the window and checking how far it was to the ground.

"Kayla, what the heck are you…?" he begins. I don't hear the rest because I jump out.

It's farther than I thought when I bruise my butt against some rocks. I groan and dust off my bottom. Something moves in the corner of my eye. I turn my head, but it's gone. It must have just been a trick of light.

I open the garden shed and see a pair of shears.

"Come to mama," I mutter, walking over.

Then, suddenly, the garden shed shuts itself close, plunging me into darkness.

I freeze and look around, scared.

"Note to self," I say, aloud, "If I ever get a bad feeling about anything, go back to a safer place, ASAP!"

A dry chuckle fills the room. I grab the shears, but some mass of darkness smacks it out of my hand.

"Your pluck, mortal, is admirable, but futile in this case. No mortal weapon can destroy darkness…"

"What do you want?" I snarl.

"I come… with a warning," the Shadow whispers.

"Who's warning me?" I demand.

"That will not concern you, mortal."

"Okay, so what's the warning?" I ask, playing it cool.

"Stay away from Carter Kane. Leave the Brooklyn House… forever."

"_What_?" I demand, eyes widening. Leave the Brooklyn House?

"Or else, all will be destroyed in this house by the fifteenth," the Shadow finishes.

"You're lying," I whisper.

"I never lie…" it says, advancing.

I charge at it, but then, its magic stops me. It straightens a shadowy hand and thrusts it inside my chest.

"I could kill you right now…" it whispers.

A cold feeling starts creeping up my chest. I look down and see its hand glowing inside me.

"All I have to do is squeeze…"

Icy fingers wrap themselves around my heart. I feel them pass through my heart and then it begins to squeeze.

I gasp- it's like a million icy barbwires are being wrapped around my heart, being tightened, killing me slowly.

"Not so strong, are you now, mortal," the Shadow snarls, its face becoming visible.

It's horrifying. I wanna scream but I can't do it. She has a non-pigeon pigeon head!

"You say mortal like it's a bad thing," I spit.

"In this case, it is," she replies, "Leave the Brooklyn House _now_. Follow your destiny."

"What destiny?" I ask. The more I talk, the stronger I feel. It gives me hope.

"The destiny the gods have ordained for you," she says, tightening her grip around my heart, "Or suffer the fate your parents received."

That makes me snap. I came here for freedom, for a fresh start, and people are still dictating what I get to do and what I don't do. And worse, they're mentioning my parents while they're at it.

She's about to _suffer_.

I kick at her, my foot connecting to a solid chest. She topples over and I smash my heel into her nose. My sneaker comes away with golden blood.

She tries attacking me, but I flip the table over on her. She lifts it with her feet and throws it at me. I duck and slip on a flashlight.

_A flashlight- that's it! The non-pigeon pigeons burned away when the sun shined on them!_

I turn on the flashlight and shine it at her. She screeches and begins crumpling away, hiding from the flashlight.

"Lady, only _I_ get to decide what I do and I don't," I say, as she falls. I pick up the shears and kick the door open, "Only _I _ordain my destiny."

"You shall pay for your transgressions against the gods, mortal!"

I look back, laughing so hard she looks confused.

"That's the problem with you gods. Y'all are just too predictable," I reply, smiling, "Have a nice day!"

I walk back in and open the windows. Light filters through and begins burning her.

"See what I mean by predictable?"

I wait until she turns into

I slam the shed door shut behind me and hurry back to the gym.

All the kids have partners, leaving me with the only person left…

Carter.

I groan. This day was turning out horrible. If my luck just continued like this, I'd be dead by Saturday.

"Am I gonna practice with you?" I ask, from behind him.

"Kayla, you seriously need to stop doing that," he says, smiling a bit too wickedly for my own comfort, "And, yes, you're up against me."

I groan, as he puts a safety ring on his sword.

"Found those shears?" he asks.

I wave them at him.

"If you want to back out, you can-"

I roll onto the ground in front of him and kick his shins. He topples over. I stand and snip the shears at him. He parries back with his crooked sword thingy and manages to gain his feet.

I realize, (with some annoyance) that he is real good. I'm fighting my hardest, but I know, soon I'll lose.

And the worst part is that he will not shut up.

"Surprise attack… that was pretty good. But why don't you step down before you get hurt? We've ran out of Tylenol."

"I have Ibuprofen," I reply quietly, "In case, y'know you need it.

"I won't," he says matter-of-factly. He moves quickly to the left and stabs at my back. I throw my garden shears at him.

It doesn't connect, but it does give me a few seconds to get another (and better) weapon.

I know, I know. I just said something vile. I insulted the shears. I'm sorry. But the power of the shears won't save me today.

I grab a sword from the table and study it.

_How the heck do you use a sword? Oh yeah, use the pointy sides on everything but yourself. And SWING!_

Carter charges again and I strike upwards. Our swords meet and I stand on tiptoe, applying my weight against the sword.

"You're good," he says.

"So I've been told, pup," I reply.

"But, you're not as good as I thought you'd be," he shoots back.

Enraged at that very thought, I swing, using the flat side and hitting him on the chest. He backs away, rubbing his non-existent abs.

"You wish!"

I strike again, cutting through his shirt. He jumps backward.

"When I want to be good in something, I become the best there is in it," I say, glaring at him, "I settle for nothing but the best!"

I swing again and our swords meet. I apply my weight against his sword, standing on tiptoe again.

"Sorry, Kayla," he says sincerely. He swipes his leg under my legs and I fall. He puts his sword at my throat and smiles.

"You'd be dead now. I win!"

I growl at him.

He helps me up.

"And when _I _want to be good at something, I become better than the best. There's nothing wrong with settling for second place."

I shake my head. There was no use. He's real good.

The kids, who stopped fighting to watch us, clap.

"Where'd you practice?" he asks, as I dust my bruised knees.'

"If you've been chased by monsters often, you get practice," I reply.

He hands me my new shears.

"You're good at this. You know, I could train you to get better at this. You could follow the path of Horus. I can see it in you, Kayla."

"Thanks pup, but I'm willing to give everything a chance before I start with anything serious," I reply.

He faces the class.

"Well, you've seen and experienced acting without thinking. The gym is open for practice if you want to do so. Class dismissed."

Everyone leaves. Carter begins putting the stuff back in place. I walk towards him and begin helping.

"So, who broke your heart?" I ask casually.

He stiffens and looks at me.

"How do you know?" he whispers.

I shrug, hoping he doesn't swing that sword and lop my head off.

"I see things, pup. So who was it? That Zia chick Sadie mentioned?"

He nods and walks away, eyes shining. I freeze. I hurt his feelings for real this time.

"Pup!" I yell.

He ignores me and leaves.

I face palm.

"Oh, heavens above," I mutter, hurrying out.

I walk around the house calling Carter's name. I go to the roof and find a gigantic griffin flying around. I step backwards, panicking, and then, as if it smells my fear, it charges.

"FREAK!" it screeches.

"I hate birds!" I yell, going downstairs.

I go to the kitchen, the pantry, the living room (disturbing Napping 101 and nearly being killed) and the pool. He's not anywhere.

I go to the main hall and motion at Sadie to come out.

"Where's your brother? I can't find him anywhere," I say when she comes out.

She blinks.

"Did you check his room?" she demands.

I blush.

"I'm taking that to be a 'no, oh great one, I didn't look in his room'," she says, frowning at me.

I blush harder and tuck my blue hair behind my ear.

"His room is on the third floor, fifth room, on the left. You can't miss it because it has a sign that say: 'Dimwit at work: Do Not Disturb.'"

"I do suppose it wasn't him who said that," I say, smirking.

Sadie chuckles.

"Do you really think that he could produce such a fine specimen of artwork? That is an insult to the name of fine art!"

Then she rubs her chin, thoughtfully.

"And he's too nice to use dimwit in his daily vocabulary," she adds.

I shake my head.

"You've really taken this April Fools' thing too seriously," I remark, running off.

I can hear voices coming from his room. I slow down and stop. I begin structuring my apology in my head. Maybe something like: _Hey, I know did something wrong and I'm sorry._

Or something like:

_It was rude of me to say that and I hope you can forgive me._

I decide to just go with the flow instead.

I open the door and find Carter yelling at a pigeon.

"Horus! You pooped on my blanket!"

My eyes go wide open. Carter's lost it. I scramble to close the door but I fall on my face.

"Kayla?" Carter asks.

"Hi, pup," I manage to say, right before I take off my shoe and pelt it at the bird.

"What are you doing?" he yells, "That's a _god _you're throwing a shoe at."

"The poor girl had a bad encounter with pigeons," says the pigeon stiffly.

"So, you were saying," Carter continues, "Since Kayla's here, you can tell her as well, since it's about her."

If the pigeon could face palm, I swear, he would at the moment.

"You're right, but she already knows."

"Okay…"

"I have a warning for you," Horus says, red eyes looking at us beadily.

I face palm.

"Not you too," I moan.

"Stay away from each other. Or else the gods will begin to attack."

"What does my dad say about that!?" Carter demands, glaring.

"It was his idea for me to warn you now," Horus says.

The pigeon flies away and Carter looks at me. He opens his mouth as if to say something but then I collapse.

My vision changes and then I see it all. I see what will happen in the future, as usual.

When my senses return, Carter's cradling me in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, I am and soon, so will you," I say.

"Huh?"

"I have a cure for your heartbreak!"'

He freezes and looks at me strangely, as if he didn't know what he should do.

"Pup, I'm your cure!"

Then, we hear a crash from downstairs and the screams start.

"Oh shish kebab," I mutter, as Carter gives me a look and runs downstairs.

He freezes on the last staircase and looks afraid.

I run down and then I notice what he saw.

"Your luck is officially worse than mine," I say, eyes widening.

* * *

**I promise everything will be explained by chapter five. **

**Also, I edited this chapter. If you don't like any scene, tell me so I can put in the old scene instead.**

**And I didn't get the heart thing from Once Upon A Time, thank you very much. I've always wanted to use that scene since I was a kid.**

**Five points to the person who can figure which goddess was threatening Kayla. Hint: This goddess is portrayed as a man sometimes.**


	3. I End Up Attempting At Promises

**Here's chapter 3. Sorry for the delay, I went on a holiday without my laptop. I want to thank every single one pf you, even that guest who told me I had problems. I feel so special! Without further ado, here it is!**

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Chapter III: I End Up Attempting At Promises You'll Never Want To Hear

**CARTER'S POV:**

I look at Kayla funny as I slowly bring out my sword. I use telekinesis to get Shelby (who the monster had in its maws) out of the way and glare at the demon.

"Monsters? Made out of cheese?" I ask, smirking slightly, "We fight them all the time."

Kayla looks clearly unimpressed, so I charge and swing at the cheese demon. I don't know what's driving me, but, as much as I dislike her, I can't let her win.

I know, I know. That's not chivalrous. But when all you do with a girl is argue with her, sometimes you feel the need to show her up.

Even if it includes destroying a cheese demon that had somehow come in the house, when I hate the smell of cheese.

The monster looks at me disinterestedly, as I attempt to slice through the cheese. It continues standing there, like a block of wood being hit with a pencil edge.

_My turn, _it growls, gripping me with its cheesy hands. I yelp and it begins to ooze mozzarella from its holes. Shelby begins screaming again, Kayla yells my name- not Pup, but she actually says Carter- and she's afraid.

I would have laughed at the silliness of all of this if I wasn't choking.

The cheese guy mutters to me:

_Only the strong cheeses make it through manufacturing. The weak cheeses are destroyed. Continue to defy the gods' will- you shall see how weak you really are, Kane._

_Gee, cheese demon dude, I hate cheese. So go burn in the oven, why don't you? _I reply.

It chuckles and throws me across the room. I feel my skull crack against the impact of the wall and Kayla cry out in anguish, quickly followed by a scream of pain from the cheese demon dude.

My vision begins to blur and I feel blood trickling down the sides of my skull. Footsteps thunder about the room, people begin yelling and two soft hands touch my face and I hear someone whisper: _Hah_-_ri_. The pain dissolves as my ba escapes from my body and I drift into the world of dreams.

_I am floating around, suspended in a familiar place. It takes me a few seconds, and then I realize I'm back in L.A._

_I look down at my ghostly body, looking for signs of my childhood self to reappear._

_Then, a familiar black girl with blue streaks in her hair walks by me, carrying books in her arms. I feel a tugging sensation around my stomach and I begin floating after her. She walks to her school and enters the building, humming some Demi Lovato song I heard before._

Why am I seeing this?_ I wonder, as I float along. Horus's voice fills my head._

You need to understand her before you make any dumb mistake,_ he replies, _I'll show you who she really is and you'll decide if she's still wanted.

_She opens her locker and then gasps in horror. The _djed_ symbol's floating around in her locker. I can hear my voice talking to her, explaining…_

_She slams it shut and runs off, dropping her books on the floor. She's afraid, for some reason. And not just afraid as in scared. I can see some guilt in her._

_She slams into a boy, who falls over. It takes her a few seconds to get out of that mess, but I hear her whisper._

_"__They've found me, Mo."_

_Mo- a tall, dark-skinned boy- nods imperceptibly and then it skips to a couple of hours later, after school closes._

_"__Your magic is becoming stronger… they can feel it now," Mo says, kicking a pebble._

_"__I don't want to go with them," she whispers, "You're the only person I actually ever cared about since…"_

_"__You don't have to say it, Mouse," he says, slowly, looking at her._

_"__I have to, to get over it," she says, looking at him in the eye._

_He nods._

_Kayla looks at him, eyes suddenly bright._

_"__We could run away," she says, "Me and you, go to different places, steal from the rich, and give it to the poor…"_

_He smirks._

_"__Steal from the gods and give it to humans," he says._

_She beams and she puts her head on his chest, and falls asleep after a while. He kisses her forehead._

_"__We'll find a way out of this, Mouse," he whispers, "I promise, you won't join them until I die."_

_I start harboring a bad feeling right about then, because I can see shapes of the gods around them as they both go to sleep. Cruel smiles light the gods' faces and I begin to wonder who, indeed, the evil ones are?_

I wake up and find Kayla mopping my face with a wet wipe.

"Pup, you're still alive, you idiot!" she yells, hugging me.

I smile.

"It's good to hear your enthusiasm, _Mouse_," I say testing the waters.

She freezes, her mouth halfway open. Tears glisten in her eyes.

"W-what?"

I shrug, trying to keep my composure. I just messed up for sure.

"You know, since you call me Pup, I was planning to start calling you Mouse… unless you don't want me to…"

She shakes her head, embarrassed.

"No, it is fine," she replies, enunciating each word slowly.

For a couple of seconds, we sit there in awkward silence, trying to say something. Then, Kayla says, quietly.

"I'm sorry for getting real and, Pup," she says, "I'm sorry for being insensitive and curious. Your love life isn't my business and if you want me to leave, I'll do it."

The sheer honesty of her words touches me. This is how she felt and I was still gonna prod into her life… that's kinda rude.

I gulp and look at her.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk," I reply. I falter, unable to explain my other acts. However, she smiles and I shut up, feeling more awkward.

I manage to pry jaws open and I finish the sentence.

"We're going to figure something about the gods' warning and I promise, as long as I'm okay, you won't be forced to leave this house."

I mentally face palm myself. Oh gods above, I'll never be able to do keep this promise! It's useless!

Kayla's watch ticks and she jumps.

"I almost forget to tell you- Zia's gonna call you from your scrying bowl in about half an hour. Are you ready?"

My heart freezes. I naturally ask the most important question:

"How's my hair?"

Kayla manages to explain that she's a diviner and that to eventually get with Zia; I had to spend time with her.

And that we would spend that time _shopping_.

I look at Kayla funny, once again.

"So, you expect me to hang up on Zia, to hang out with you?"

"I know, dumb idea," she says, "But it'll make her jealous and make you more appealing, because you'd be 'taken'."

She tucks her blue hair behind her ears, inexplicably reminding me of Mo kissing her forehead. She smiles nervously at me.

"How does that even work, if I may ask?"

"I don't know, but it used to work all the time in L.A," she states.

"Fine, but if it doesn't work, your head goes on my wall."

She smiles, shyly.

"As long as you don't put Mickey Mouse ears on me, it's a deal, Pup."

I chuckle and she steps outside. I hear Zia's voice and my heartstrings sorta yank themselves around.

"Carter," she says, in that voice of hers. I can't breathe…

"Hi," I manage to say.

"I was wondering if you wanted to talk now," she says, smiling slightly.

Every fiber of my existence is straining towards a yes, but I say it. I say the no.

She looks shocked… and hurt.

Pain and panic fill me. Here was my only chance to talk to her, but I'm blowing it. Why am I doing this? Why would I pick Kayla over Zia?

I gulp. No pain, no gain, right?

"I'm sorta busy…" I say, "I have to train the initiates and I promised one I'd go shopping with-"

Kayla enters again, smiling brightly. I stifle a giggle. She looked really stupid. Smiling isn't her thing.

"Pup, c'mon," she says, "You promised to take me to the mall."

I roll my eyes. More like _she_ forced _me_ to take her there.

Zia's face goes under a number of emotions as she realizes that _I'm_ taking a teenage _girl_ to the _mall._

"Pup, who are you talking to?" Kayla asks, looking interested. Her eyes adopt a wicked light as she asks if it's my girl-

"Mouse, calm down, it's my friend, Zia," I say, unable to let her finish that sentence. I feel my face turning bright red.

Zia looks jealous. Something- relief- fills me. She likes me after all! I want to skip around, but I restrain myself.

"Um, then… I'll talk to you later!" she says, disappearing.

Kayla drops the smile and heaves me up.

"C'mon, bub, we're going shopping," she snarls.

Oh gods above. I have a real bad feeling about this.

She goes downstairs and leaves me in my room as I rummage around for my sneakers.

_Carter… _Horus's voice calls out.

"Yeah?" I ask, finding one shoe and plopping it on the ground.

_You're making worse decisions as time passes. The gods find you weak and they wish to destroy you._

"Tell me about it," I snarl, thinking about the cheese demon.

_Promise me something, Carter, or I'll be forced to be against you._

"What?" I ask suspiciously, grabbing the other shoe.

_Promise you'll make sure Kayla leaves forever by the end of the month. _

"But-" I begin, pulling out the shoe, making a bunch of other shoes fall on top of me.

_Promise me, Carter. It's the only thing we can do. Promise, if she doesn't leave, you will help us gods destroy her. Promise you will let her go. Or else-_

He shows me quite a few visions- the first, with Sadie, Walt, Alyssa, Cleo, Jaz and all the other initiates are unconscious. Kayla and I are sword-fighting above them all, my face blank, her face rigid with fear. Then, the second one is showing the house burning. Then, the last one is showing Kayla riding Freak, and throwing a glass orb at the house, engulfing it in purple smoke.

I freeze and Horus's voice becomes more persuasive.

_28 days is enough time for her to get Zia jealous enough to come to New York. Carter, you know you want to agree. Just promise me and you will all be safe._

I know what I have to do.

"I…" I begin.

**ISIS'S POV:**

The hall of the gods was filled with many gods and goddesses, all eager to hear the end of the deal. There was Isis, smiling at her son, Horus, proud of his actions. Her prismatic rainbow gossamer wings flapped as she observed the other reactions.

Bast was shaking her head. The cat goddess was expected to act like that- her so-called _kittens_ were being forced to make such a deal. She was one of the few that actually knew how this moment would change history.

Set looked mildly disappointed, like he expected Carter to fight harder. The red skinned god caught her eye and winked. Isis was disgusted.

Osiris, blue as usual, looked distressed. He didn't know what to choose. He also knew what would happen.

Anubis looked disinterested. There wasn't a chance that this would affect him.

Hathor, wide awake and in human form, watched interested. The goddess of love made a formidable enemy when she wasn't asleep. Unlike Sekhmet, her other form, she was intelligent and… _nice_. You couldn't tell with Hathor.

But Isis had the oddest feeling Horus wouldn't be the only one influencing Carter at that moment. Hathor's beady eyes and Set's wicked smile all suggested something or the other.

Sobek, Serqet, Nekhbet, and Babi all looked murderous. Not only did they dislike Carter, but Kayla and her insolent, (but very dead) friend stole from them.

And standing in the corner, was the oldest and wisest of them all, made from primordial darkness… so old, that genders weren't even evolved yet and she was also a man.

Personally, Isis preferred this goddess as a goddess. When she was a male, she was nicer and helped the heroes more.

And, finally, bouncing up and down on his throne was Ra, the senile god of the sun.

Isis stifled a gag of horror. She couldn't believe this old man replaced her son. That was why she didn't like Carter, but she was hoping if she could convince him what she and Horus were whispering to him was right, then, he'd help them make Ra go back to where he came from- the nursing home closet.

"Kangaroos and canaries!" he yelled, smiling at Isis.

She looked away.

"Kangaroos and canaries, canaries and zebras!" he yelled louder.

She scowled and willed Carter to promise to Horus.

"I…" Carter began.

Everyone in the room stiffened and leaned forward, except for Ra, who kept on singing about animals.

He closed his eyes and exhaled.

_Carter, promise me, please, _Horus begged.

Isis had a smug smile on. No way would he be able to refuse that.

Carter slowly shook his head, smiling slightly.

"Horus, this is a big offer, way too soon," he said, smoothly, "Give me some time to think it over, and then we can negotiate."

With that, Carter broke the connection and left Horus steaming with anger.

"Carter isn't that glib of speech," he snarled, "Who helped him?"

Hathor raised her hand and looked at Horus defiantly.

"Hathor?" he asked, in disbelief.

"Yes, dearest, it was me," she replied in a sing song voice, eyes harder than diamonds.

"I condemn you-" he began.

"Nephew, if I may," Set interrupted, smiling.

He glared at Set. Isis began to get a very bad feeling about this.

"You are no longer the king of us, so you can't condemn us. Neither can you boycott her because she isn't the only one."

"Who else is there? Step up and show your faces!"

Set smiled and stepped forward. Bast, sighing, joined him. Anubis stepped forward as well, and after a few seconds, so did Osiris.

Isis couldn't believe it. She was so close, yet so far away.

"You know this is stupid! If Carter doesn't stop fraternizing with her, he will not defeat Apophis!" she yelled.

"That shows how much you know, dear Aunt Isis," Anubis said.

Set cackled.

"That's my boy!"

"Shut up, father."

Isis looked at each of them. Anubis would pay of course. He loved Sadie. He would regret doing this.

"Very well," she replied, "This, I believe, shows a parting of ways."

"It doesn't have to be-" Osiris began.

"But, alas, it is," she replied, "Now, if you mind, the rest of us need to plan our next move."

The opposing gods shrugged and left. The remaining gods stay behind, awaiting her orders.

She pulled out a glass orb and watched the green smoke billow inside it.

"What is that?" Nekhbet demanded.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," she replied, holding it close to her face. A green skull forms in the orb and she allowed herself a smile.

"It is time to take our revenge," the goddess says, her horrible face forming in the dark.

Her laughter filled the room and scared Ra so much he hid under the throne, shivering.

It was about to get very ugly.


	4. Chapter IV: Broken Record

**Here's chapter 4! I reveal the goddess in this chapter! **

**Keep on reviewing! **

**If you know any nice beta reader, can you give me their link. Thank you!**

* * *

Chapter IV: Broken Record.

**CARTER'S POV:**

"I…" I begin, tempted so much to agree. It was a win-win situation. Who could refuse?

A soft voice rises in the back of my head, unbidden…

_Carter, you can't do this. You can't betray someone who is helping you get with the person you like. You can't do this to her. She wouldn't even do it to you and you know that!_

I close my eyes, dizzy. Horus sounded so trustworthy, but I know the voice is right.

_Carter, promise me, please, _Horus begs.

_Carter, at least think about the consequences first. Go out to the mall with her and plan ahead. Don't dive into something dumb, like this. Carter, show some sense, you idiot!_

I shake my head, marveling at my internal conflicts. I know who's right- me of course. Horus might have something up his sleeve.

"Horus, this is a big offer, way too soon," I say, smoothly, "Give me some time to think it over, and then we can negotiate."

With that, I break the mind connection and Kayla comes in.

"Pup, have you chickened out or something?" she asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Uh…" I begin, not knowing what to say.

"I'm taking your silence as a yes," she says.

"Me? Chicken out?" I scoff, unable to lose face in front of her right after making a bargain, "I never chicken out and you know that Mouse!"

The thing is I can't lose face in front of her. It's a feeling I get around her. If I show weakness, she'll cut the deal and leave. And for some reason, her leaving bothers me more than her cutting the deal.

"I was hoping you said that," she says, eyes twinkling, "Because if you're out of action, who'd be a gentle man and carry the bags?"

I sit up and look at her in mock horror.

"Mouse, if you think that I'll carry your bags, keep on dreaming," I say.

"Kidding!" she says, raising her hands up, "I meant who'd show me around? I don't really like taxi drivers anymore."

I pull on my shoes.

"What about your lessons?" I ask, reflexively.

"I've chosen the path I want to take," she says, looking at me, "And Sadie said she'll arrange my schedule by tomorrow so I'm not doing anything today."

"Let's go," I grunt, sheathing my sword and hooking it on my belt. You know, just in case.

"That's a great idea," she replies, placing her shears in her belt loop.

We walk downstairs and we're confronted by Bast immediately.

"Where are the two of you going?" she demands, hair slowly becoming an afro. Her bodysuit turns black and her pupils narrow.

"The Public Library," I lie, before Kayla can say anything.

Bast sniffs at us and her bodysuit turns white. She looks oddly nervous. Actually, she is really…scared.

"Carter, Kayla, stay safe, please. Don't do anything real dumb like jump off buildings or go elevator-surfing. Don't even use your magic out there."

"Bast-" I begin, concerned.

"Carter, I'm okay," she cuts in, "Have fun at the mall."

"Uh-" Kayla begins.

"A cat is always mindful of her kittens. Who would actually hang out at a library?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Kayla complains, "Libraries are nice places, okay?"

"They are _not_," Bast replies, "Not enough napping space or yarn!"

She looks past us absent-mindedly and sees the yarn.

"Yarn…"

She yowls and pounces on it.

We stare at her.

She realizes we're staring at her.

"What? I'm a cat! I have urges!"

Kayla stares at her like she's seeing her for the first time. I pull her out so Bast doesn't get offended. Cats get easily offended. I'm serious, they do.

"I'm going to act like I didn't see that," she says, shuddering.

I shake my head.

"Welcome to my life," I mutter.

We step into the air conditioned mall. Kayla smiles at me, briefly and then the smile disappears like it was never there. But it leaves my stomach in giant knots.

Weird, isn't it?

"Hey, Carter," she says, adopting a Brooklyn accent.

I jump. I don't even think she's called me that before.

"The thing is, Pup, you're actually a good egg," she remarks, grabbing a cart.

"That," I reply, "Was very random. And it doesn't even really make sense. Whoever heard of a puppy being a good egg?"

She freezes and looks up at me.

"You _really_ need to go outside more often." She says, "It's a metaphor, you dolt."

"I'm not even allowed to go out some days," I lie, unable to tell her the truth, in fear she'll find me silly. _I brought back Ra from the Duat and I'm afraid of going out to hang with real people._ Not exactly _cool_, "So what do you mean I should go out more?"

She shakes her head.

"That's exactly what I mean. You always follow the rules, sometimes too strictly. You only live once- unless you become a god or something. And you're a teenager. You can't live if you don't break the rules once in a while."

"But the thing is; I have no time to do that. I have to be a good leader," I protest.

I don't know why I'm explaining it to her, but for Horus' sake, I'm at the mall with her. We somehow changed spots. My back is now against the shopping cart.

She tucks a strand of blue-black hair behind her ear and stands on tiptoe. I lean away, afraid she'll kiss me or something. I suddenly try to remember of I brushed my teeth after waking up again.

"A good leader doesn't always play by the rules," she whispers.

_Yes, I did brush my teeth,_ I think.

Then she shoves me so hard, I topple over and land into the shopping cart.

She begins pushing me at terminal velocity, cackling as I screamed like a little kid after Sully from Monsters Inc. scared him.

She can't even swerve the thing properly.

"STOP!" I wail, gripping the sides of the shopping cart. We're breaking so many rules; my brain is having a sensory overload.

"You're not having fun?" she asks, running me down a ramp.

"Does it look like I'm having fun?!"

"Okay, you party-pooper, calm down, I'll stop."

She hits the (probably non-existent) brakes and I fall out, on my face.

"That was…" I begin. I'm about to call it all sorts of terrible things- horrible, traumatizing, cruel, dumb- and then I realize, it was fun.

I mean like, really fun.

"That was incredible!"

She beams.

"So, do you want do something else every teenager should do?"

"You bet!"

"Then the last one to the arcade will have to buy the winner a McFlurry!"

She runs off before I register what I'm about to lose.

"NO!" I yell, "Not a McFlurry!"

Even though people are looking at us funny, I feel, for the first time in my life, normal.

I feel like I'm actually a teenager and not some dumb kid who is forced to save the world from evil in the form of an ugly red snake. I mean, we saviors of the Earth don't get to feel that often. What with saving the world, and training people and having arguments about bedtime with Sadie, I don't exactly manage to zip off to have lunch with my friends.

I mean, the only Kane who actually does stuff like that is Sadie. And maybe Amos does weird stuff like that, because he was a performing jazz musician.

I've never really hung out with people my age before moving her. And then, Walt the closest I have to a best friend is dying. If you're dying, going to have a McFlurry with me is probably never going to be on your bucket list.

Poor guy spends most of his time having his lips glued to Sadie. (Oh, yes. I know. I don't beat I'm because he's dying and that'd be cruel.)

Kayla beats me to the arcade.

I had made my way there, with her nowhere in sight. _Maybe she got lost, _I hoped, _I get that McFlurry after all._

I start walking to the arcade, but something sweeps past me.

"Hey, pup, were you looking for me?' she drawls, throwing a piece of Hot Cheetos at me. It gets stuck in my hair.

Blowing a raspberry at me, she enters and I laugh. She'd be a great warrior.

_Oh no. No way is _she_ gonna follow my path! _Horus says in my mind.

_Horus, c'mon, man! _ I think, _Horus, don't be such a party pooper._

_No, Carter. She's a lowly thief! What does party pooper even mean?_

I think about it.

_In your terms, I have no idea. In mine… stop raining on my parade._

_Whatever,_ he says, using the only 'slang' I taught him, _she's not going to follow my path. End of story._

With a sinking feeling in my chest, I follow her into the arcade; for some reason, I don't want to disappoint her.

We go to McDonalds for lunch. We split the bill and then carry our food to the food court. I sit down across form her and study my Big Mac. It doesn't look so appealing anymore.

"What's wrong, pup?" Kayla asks, sipping her McFlurry.

I set my burger down, unable to hide it anymore.

"Kayla, I have something to tell you," I begin.

She senses the seriousness in my tone and sets down her Quarter Pounder. (You might say boys have big appetites. That means you haven't met Kayla yet. I don't know where she puts it all. Her waistline is thinner than mine.)

"What?"

"Horus… well, he hates you."

She picks up her burger and takes a bite, as if she had suddenly lost her interest in the topic.

"Tell me something I don't know. He's held a grudge against me since I stole his stuff and held it for ransom."

"You WHAT?" I demand.

"It's not important," she replies, "Weren't you going somewhere with this?"

I try wrapping my mind around this, but it's impossible. She actually stole from the gods and she talks about it as if was no biggie. And stealing from Horus means she did it somewhere in the last five months.

"Hello?"

"Now you can't follow his path!"

She laughs.

"You're hilarious, pup. But I didn't plan to follow the path of Horus."

I blink.

"Then whose path were you planning to follow?"

She holds my hand. I feel uncomfortable- and then she cracks all my knuckles. Wow, she's less adept at the art of flirting than I am.

"I'm going to follow the path of-"

Then, there's an explosion. All the mortals in the room fall to the floor and snore. Silence fills the room, leaving only me and Kayla awake.

Ah, there's nothing like this to ruin a great day.

"She won't live to tell you who, Kane," hisses a dry voice.

I stand up and spin around, pulling out my _khopesh_ as I do so. I brandish the sword at where the noise came from.

The voice smacks me upside the head.

"Looking for me?' it rasps, reminding me painfully of Vlad the Inhaler.

I swing behind me, but it kicks my ribs.

"You'll never catch me!"

"Show yourself, you coward!" I yell.

"Quite an unwise choice, Kane dear," it replies, "But your wish is my command."

It says a word so ancient, so strange; I don't even think it's Egyptian. A hieroglyph burns in front, proving me wrong. It means _reunite._

All the shadows in the food court- except Kayla's- assemble 20 meters in front of me. They form a body- a woman in a dress- and I can't move because of the fear I feel. The shadows slowly solidify and form… _her_.

She's hot in a 'I'm-about to kill you' way.

She's wearing a tight black dress that shows as much as it hides. Her lustrous black hair is done in an up-do. Her skin is milk white and her lips blood red. And, for some weird reason, she's wearing metal-toed sneakers.

She smiles at me and walks over. I see Zia, Sadie, Jaz, Cleo, Alyssa, Mom, Bast… and Kayla.

She touches my face, her own flickering.

"Such a fine specimen," she mutters.

My heart constricts. If she asks me to do anything, I'd do it. Even if she asked me to eat glass out of her hand, I'd do it.

Fortunately, Kayla comes to the rescue by totally wigging out.

"AH! NOT NON-PIGEON PIGEON LADY! AH! GO AWAY! PUP, IT'S A TRAP!"

"Mouse, relax, she's-" I begin.

Kayla smacks me upside the head.

I see her true form. Then I want to wash my brain with hydrochloric acid.

"She's hideous!" I wail, "Mouse, she has a pigeon head!"

The woman sighs and snaps her fingers. Her dress turns into full body armor.

"Oh, Ra," she mutters, "They even have pet names for each other. Someone pass me a paper bag so I can barf."

Kayla begins choking. I spin around and I nearly find out what the hieroglyph for _accident in my pants_ is.

Her shadow came to life and solidified. A dark figure is strangling her right now and it won't let go.

"The gods really hate you," I remark, before charging with my sword.

"Don't!" she chokes, "If you kill it, you kill me!"

"And why doesn't that work the other way?"

"Ancient Egypt never makes sense."

I turn around to the woman.

"Let my friend go!" I yell, "What kind of monster are you to do this?

"I am the first monster ever," she replies, "I am Keket, goddess of primordial darkness. And I'm a snake-headed goddess, Kayla."

"Don't care," she groans, elbowing her shadow.

"Wait, your name is cook-ette? As in a female cook?" I ask.

"CARTER!" Kayla yells, 'This is not the time to argue about her name!"

"Yeah, so let her go!" I yell.

"Gladly," she replies, "But let me give you a gift first."

She flicks her wrist and column of white fire forms behind her. She whispers a word and then a hieroglyph shines behind her, one that says _dissipate_. The shadows return to normal.

"Good luck," she whispers, "You'll need it."

And with a final chuckle, she disappears for good.

I realize what the column is.

"Oh, crap," I mutter, "The gods really don't like you."

The column separates and forms seven beings- half canine, half human- and they slowly begin to advance.

"Kayla, we're going to have to get out of here," I whisper, "The Seven Arrows of Sekhmet are here."

"All seven?" she asks, shocked. Then, she begins thinking, "I met them before. The seven represent the plagues of Egypt- Frogs, Lice, Locusts, Blood, Floods, Constipation and Black Death. I kidnapped Constipation once and then we made a bargain. So maybe, I could negotiate with him and save ourselves."

"Just don't get constipated," I say.

"That's real nice," she replies.

She takes a step forward and looks at the fire with brown swirling within it.

"Constipation?" she asked, "It's me, Kayla, your friend-"

It snarls at her. She pales.

"That's not the Constipation I know. It was polite. Carter, DUCK!"

I duck just as a brown hieroglyph shoots over my head, reading 'Constipated.'

She backs away.

"That was real smart," I remark, as she pulls out her shears.

"Do you have a better idea?" she snarls.

"I thought you'd never ask," I reply, "It's so simple. RUN!"

We begin running out of the food court, screaming as the Arrows of Sekhmet bay for our blood.

Meh, I've had worse days.

We run around, unable to lose them. Everyone in the mall is sleeping so there's no one else to distract.

We reach the center of the mall and jump over the penny fountain. I get my foot stuck in the drain. Kayla continues running. She probably hasn't realized that I'm stuck.

_Oh, crap, _I think_ (_which, come to think of it, is kinda ironic because Constipation reaches out for me).

"Hey!" Kayla yells. All Seven look away and stare at her, "You big uglies! No one's giving my friend constipation!"

She blasts them away with the fire extinguisher. Their fire goes out for a bit and then she begins running.

They all chase after her, howling.

Constipation glares at me, as if to say he'll come back for me.

I sit there, shocked. I can't believe she actually did that for me.

I'm not gonna let her die.

I get my foot out and follow them.

Kayla is using the good old _run for your life from crazy weird dog-humans technique._ They can't keep for some reason.

Then, she loses it and trips over her shoelace. She rolls and then hits a wall.

Dazed, she sits up. They begin laughing, more like hyenas than dogs.

"Kayla!" I yell. She was going to die…

"No!" she yells, thrusting out her arm.

A pink mist starts curling out from her hands. It spins around all seven arrows and changes them into seven pink ribbons.

She changed the Arrows of Sekhmet into the Ribbons of Hathor.

For a few seconds, we stay there, quietly. Then I run and sit next to her.

"Mouse, you idiot, why did you do that?" I ask.

"You'd do the same for me."

And with that, I help her up and we finish our lunch and our shopping.

On our way home, I remember something.

"Whose path are you going to follow?"

She shakes her head.

"You're an idiot," she remarks, "I thought it'd be obvious."

"Uh… no," I reply.

"I'm going to follow the path of Hathor," she tells me.

"That sleeping cow lady?" I ask.

She swats me playfully.

I laugh.

"Why would you pick that?" I ask, "Because the other gods really hate you?"

Sadie comes running out of the house, looking really scared.

"Carter- wait why do you have a bag full of clothes?"

"Uh…"

"Uh…"

"Oh, tell me later! The thing is; we've been attacked!"

I freeze.

The _bau_ was all just a distraction. The real target was our house.

"What did they do?"

"No one was in the side of the house they attacked. It wasn't much; three bedrooms- Kayla's-"

I look at her sharply. She shakes her head slowly.

"-Walt's, Jaz's and half of the living room," she finishes.

"What did they do?"

"They cleansed away all the magic."

The meaning of her words hit me and I feel sick at heart. That means they destroyed every trace of magic in there. And if anyone was inside, they'd be vaporized, instantly.

It's begun.

**AMOS' POV:**

The Chief Lector tapped the dais, quietly. Then, he turned his head slowly and saw the purple part of the curtain grow more. Then he saw it all;

· _Carter and some girl fighting the Seven Arrows of Sekhmet._

· _A goddess throwing a curse on his house the Brooklyn House._

· _The gods arguing._

The Chief Lector groaned. It was getting worse by the hour. Carter wasn't only causing a civil war.

But, he was giving Apophis space to change the future and swallow Ra. Carter needed guidance. He needed help.

He needed Zia.

Even though Set was against this idea, he had to do it.

"Zia," he called.

"Yeah?" she called.

"Would you like to spend a week in Brooklyn with Carter and Sadie?"

"Sure," she replied, "But will you-?"

"I'll be great," he said, "I just need you to keep an eye on Carter. Pack your stuff; I'll make a portal for you."

She could barely hide her glee as she left.

But what was Carter doing?

**CARTER'S POV:**

After dinner, I call a meeting in the library. All the senior initiates come and we sit down around the table.

I look at all the faces, wondering who the heck went missing.

_Kayla,_ I think.

"Listen, before we start this meeting, there's someone else I have to call," I say, walking out.

Kayla is in her room, examining her stuff.

"Mouse, you can't be in this room. It's dangerous!" I say, disapprovingly.

"Pup, I'm all about dangerous," she replies, laughing. Then, her face freezes and she says my real name.

"What?" I ask, unnerved by her shock.

"There's only one goddess who can cast a spell like this," she replies.

"Who would do this?" I ask.

She sighs and looks me in the eye.

"She's your so-called ally," she snarls.

"Who did it?"

"Isis."

We look at each other in silence and then I whistle.

"Man, do the gods hate you!"

"You sound like a broken record," she replies.

Then she falls onto me. I catch her and try holding her up but her entire body isn't functioning.

Her eyes open and she looks at me.

"I have bad news."

"Worse than the Isis thing?" I ask.

"Worse," she confirms.

"Hit me."

"Zia's coming in right now."

"Hi, Carter," Zia says, entering.

Then she sees how we're standing.

"It's not what you think it is!" Kayla yells.

"She's just my best friend!"

Zia just stares at us, quietly. Then she says;

"We have a meeting waiting. Let's go."

And my heart shatters all over again.


	5. V: Starry Gods, Mean Girls, and Hot Boys

**Hey guys, what's happening? I'm back to upload this chapter! P.S: The 17th is my birthday (which was yesterday) Also, Happy Independence Day, Indonesian pals! (That is, if I have any!)**

**And today ****is Percy Jackson's birthday! What what! Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain! You'd be 20!**

**Less chatty, more story! So here's chapter cinq! (Yeah, I speak French. Let me quote The Titan's Curse: _I am so cool!_ And then my sister can be like _You are so big-headed_ and then I'll be like _I am so awesome._)**

**Ha, I love digressing. Now, back to the important stuff. There's some swearing... mild though!**

* * *

Chapter V: Starry Gods, Mean Girl, And Shirtless Hot Guys.

**KAYLA'S POV: **

Well, _that_ could have gone better.

It really isn't my fault Carter has to catch me whenever I fall over. It definitely isn't my fault that Zia decided to come on over.

And, yes, I'll admit one thing that's my fault- interfering.

The three of us quietly walk downstairs, avoiding each other's eyes. I realize how weird we look- me, in my AC/DC top and ripped jeans, Carter in his Lakers t-shirt and shorts and Zia in her black _abaya*_.

Carter catches my eye as we enter the library.

_All okay? _

I nod at him. _What about you?_

He shakes his head.

The library isn't well lit. There is one very long mahogany table in the center, with several candles burning on it. People sit around it, their profiles hidden.

It reminds me of the time I was in New Orleans with a friend and we accidentally crashed a séance on our way from escaping Horus' wrath. (What? All the gods love the killer rice back in New Orleans… at least Horus does enough not to chase after us until he finished his lunch.)

"Who dares enter?" hisses a female voice.

I'm starting to get the creeps, but Carter saves me from the embarrassment of yelping out by rolling his eyes and flicking on the switch.

Ah, he's a logical one!

"Nice try, Sadie, but the three of us are made of tougher stuff," he says. Then, smiling cheekily at me, he adds, in an undertone only I can hear, "At least two of us are."

I stomp on his foot.

We take our seats. Carter sits in the middle. Zia sits next to him and I sit across from him.

"We all know someone-" begins Sadie. Carter and I look at each other and then he shakes his head. If we told them, they'd argue. And, we're supposed to get along.

But if we didn't tell them, if I didn't tell Carter the threat they gave me, how would they prepare themselves for the 15th?

That's in 12 days!

_Calm down, Kayla,_ whispers a feminine voice in my head.

I roll my eyes. And now, I was hearing voices too.

_Not just any voice. I'm Hathor._

_And I'm Ra!_

"-cast a curse on some parts of the house preventing magic from being used in there. So, we'll fix this mess as soon as possible. You'll just have to share rooms with someone."

"Yeah," Walt pipes up, "I could crash with Carter."

"I could sleep in the infirmary…" Jaz chimes in.

"And I could sleep on the couch!" I say sarcastically.

Bast hisses at me, eyes glowing. I look away as she snarls;

"That's where _I_ sleep!"

Zia raises her hand, eyes twinkling maliciously.

"She could sleep in Sadie's room," she suggests.

I don't find any flaw in this plan until the voice in my head yells at me:

_She's hosting Isis, the goddess who cursed your room!_

_Uh, I find that hard to believe, _I reply.

'Hathor' groans in protest.

_If you don't believe me, look into the Duat._

For a second, I feel a pressure behind my eyes. I blink and then I see it.

Where Sadie was sitting was a beautiful regal woman with rainbow wings. In Carter's place, there's a teen boy in full body armor, with one gold and the other silver. Bast was Bast, of course. Zia… she's an old man!

That shocking revelation makes me pull my head out of the Duat.

Carter nods at Zia's idea, acting like it's the best idea since the creation of portable computers.

I shake my head at him and make a bunch of signals. He doesn't get the message.

He stands up.

"Well, since that's settled-" he begins.

I can't take it anymore, so I lunge across the table and knock him over.

He falls into a bookshelf. I fall on top of him.

"May I?" I snarl, helping him up.

"Be my guest!" Sadie says, stifling a laugh.

"Step right ahead!" adds Walt.

"You're a cow lady…" whispers Felix.

I pull Carter out of earshot.

"Man, you are really besotted with Zia," I say.

His face is bright red.

"What the hell do you mean?" he asks.

I lean against a bookshelf.

"I mean- WHOA!"

The bookshelf falls apart and I land on my butt.

"Serves you right in pushing me over like that," he chuckles, helping me up, "I thought we made peace."

"We have- are you laughing at me?"

"Stop digressing," he says.

"We have," I continue, "But, you _know_ I can't share a room with your sister."

His face softens.

"Mouse," he begins, making me flinch. Whenever he says that, it reminds me of Mo, the first friend I ever had. He even is like Mo in a way- lanky, awkward and trustworthy.

"I know Sadie is annoying but-"

"No, you dolt," I mutter, "She's hosting Isis. Isis wants me dead. As in-" I draw a quick line under my throat, "- dead. Do you expect to be roommates with her?"

Carter blinks.

"How do you know that?"

I shrug.

"Don't call me crazy, but a voice in my head said so."

He looks at me quietly.

"A voice," he murmurs, "And did that voice say who it was?"

"Hathor," I reply, "She said she was Hathor."

He stifles a laugh.

"No wonder Felix said that!" he whispers, "You're a cow-headed lady!"

I punch him.

"No time to make jokes about that, you idiot," I say.

He wipes away his tears- of pain or of mirth, I'm not sure.

"This is kinda serious," he says, "This means you're hosting Hathor."

_Ha, I told you!_

_Shut up._

"Don't tell anyone," I say.

He nods.

"Mouse, if Sadie tries to kill you, I'll save you. Just shout my name and I'll be there. No matter when, where or why, I'd be there," he promises.

"Why?"

He smiles at me.

"That's because you'd do the same for me. And you, are like my new best friend," he says, adopting a Californian accent.

I realize what he's doing and punch him.

"Don't make fun of my accent," I say.

"Don't make fun of my accent," he repeats.

I roll my eyes and walk back to the table.

I notice how miserable most of the younger kids look about the no magic in the living room thing.

Suddenly filled with the feeling of motherliness, I raise my hand.

"Yes?" Carter asks.

"Um… there's a good side of this," I say.

"What?"

"The Wi-Fi is working," I say.

"That means that the TV will be able to connect to Netflix again!" Cleo says.

Everyone mulls over these facts and they begin whispering among themselves.

Sadie stands up.

"So, who wants to watch Some Girls?"

Carter stands up.

"No way am I going through _that _again!" he says.

Felix jumps on to the table and says:

"First one to the TV gets to choose what to watch."

Sadie begins leisurely walking towards the door, but Carter starts running to the door, seemingly uncaring about what it would do to his reputation with Zia.

"No freaking way am I gonna watch that!" he yells.

Felix runs off the table and jumps onto Carter's back. Carter falls with an impressive girly scream. Felix cackles maniacally as he gets up and runs out of the room.

"POWER RANGERS FOREVER!" he shouts.

Most people get off the chairs and start running toward the door. They cause a block at the door, all arguing with each other. I fall on the floor, unable to stop laughing.

Walt breaks through the block first. I can hear him yelling insults at, I quote, 'whoever tried making me bald'.

They manage to get downstairs, leaving me, Zia and Carter in the room.

I walk towards Carter, whose face is still in the carpet.

"Yo, pup, you okay?" I ask.

"I don't wanna watch Power Rangers," he says, voice muffled.

I push his face up.

"And, for the record, neither does Zia," I say, nudging his shoulder with my foot.

His face changes color.

Then, slowly, a smile crosses his face and he pats my shoulder.

"You're really a nice person," he says.

I close my eyes, unable to look him in the eye. He was so happy. I'd never be able to make him feel that way.

"Thanks," I mutter, leaving.

I stop at the door and watch him talk to her.

I shake my head. This is what I wanted… right?

I head to my room and take out my laptop. I sit down on the floor and turn it on.

After a while, I fall asleep on it. I nestle my head on the keyboard as I feel a ripping sensation in my body.

I cry out, but no noise comes out. Then my vision changes:

_I'm having one of those weird out-of-body experiences. If I wasn't a magician, I swear, I would have thought I died or some stupid thing similar that._

_But since I'm a magician and stuff, I know it's my ba._

_It takes me a few seconds to realize I'm a human and not a chicken._

_By then, I'm soaring straight through the ceiling. I see Zia and Carter holding hands, smiling at each other. I manage to stop and look at them in disapproval. If Zia was any closer, she'd be all up in his lap._

_I debate whether to interfere or not, but the person who ripped my ba out has other ideas. I go through the roof and then, after a few seconds, I land in front of a mansion the clouds._

_"Um…hello?" I ask, peering through the grilles of the gate._

_"Voice recognized. Welcome in, Kayla," says a cool female voice._

_"Okay," I say, wishing I had a weapon. Most of the time you end up on ba trip to someone's house in the clouds, it is really bad news._

_I walk inside and head for the front, main door. I slowly open it and find a strange house, with an even stranger woman on the couch._

_First thing first, there was no floor. I could see most of Brooklyn under me. Then, all the furniture is floating. They're made out of clouds!_

_The woman is blue with silver dots… dotting her skin. I can see constellations on her skin- Pegasus, Leo, Taurus, and the Big Dipper-_

_"Nut." I say flatly._

_She smiles brightly at me. Damn, you gotta hate these old gods and goddesses. I mean, like Shu, Geb and Nut- they don't even look human. They give me the creeps sometimes._

_"Do you want sahlab?" she asks._

_"What's-"_

_She claps her hands and a servant light come shooting along. It hands me a cup of vanilla-colored liquid. I take it and sip it- it was just like hot chocolate. But instead of tasting like chocolate it tasted like vanilla._

_"Why am I here?"_

_"Ah, this is why I love thieves," she says._

_"Hey!"_

_"Sorry," she replies, "Anyways, they're straightforward, like you. I'm supposed to give you a few pointers, from a couple of nice gods. These are from-"_

_She pulls out an iPhone and flips through it._

_"Hathor says that where brain and brawn fail, beauty can prevail."_

_"That's _hella_ stupid."_

_Nut ignores that and continues._

_"Anubis says that the Duat can store anything for you, but sometimes it'd be easier if you carried it around like your pent shots."_

_"How does he know I have sodium pentothal needles?"_

_"Anubis comes over to visit Sadie sometime. It wasn't his fault he saw them," Nut says, looking up from her phone._

_I shake my head, annoyed._

_"Set says you should go for urban chic and to say hi to Wendigo for him."_

_Nut stops and yells "SET!" indignantly._

_She sighs, as if remembering that he wouldn't be home._

_"Osiris says to keep his son safe or else he will make sure Ammit will eat your heart. Bast says that you should put your wants first or suffer consequences, get out of your room and WAKE UP!"_

_I begin falling through the clouds. I scream as my sahlab literally disappears and Brooklyn begins becoming clearer. At the last moment, I realize I'm solid again and I crash through the roof._

_"Oh, shit," I say._

I jolt awake and find Sadie looking at me mistrustfully.

"What? Can't a girl get some decent shuteye?" I ask, guilty.

"How do you know Anubis?" she asks.

I blink.

"He's Osiris lieutenant and your second boyfriend," I say.

That shuts her up.

We head over to her room and then she gestures toward a dingy, ripped, smelly sleeping bag.

"I'm sleeping in that?" I ask, horrified, "What happened to the other sleeping bags?"

"Oh, we burnt them last week and Carter still hasn't restocked enough," she says casually.

She shrugs, noticing my facial expression.

"I don't really care," she replies.

Anger fills me. I didn't get it- why would she do this?

"Do you seriously expect me to sleep in that?" I ask, pointing at it.

She ignores me.

"Sadie Kane, you can't be serious," I snarl, as the anger builds up.

"Oh, yes I am," she replies, noting how angry I am.

My fingertips spark with pink energy. I let it go and then the room goes into flurry of motion.

The sleeping bag transforms into a bed. The room enlarges. Sadie's bed makes itself. Her room is swept, her CD's arranged in alphabetical order, her clothes folded and hung, her dirty plates whisked away.

As for Sadie herself, my pink magic gives her pigtails and puts her in a pinafore. She looks horrified.

Before she can blabber on about how much of a… you know… I am; I raise my hand.

"Check under your pillow," I say.

She does as I say and finds a Toblerone.

"Not working," she hisses, "I want my outfit back."

I laugh.

"Next time," I say, climbing on my bed, "Don't piss off the black girl wearing skull earrings. Love magic is some powerful stuff, Blondie."

"_Please_," she spits out.

I snap my fingers and her outfit goes back to normal.

I curl up under my new duvet and smile. Following the path of this goddess is going to be lots of fun.

_I wonder how Zia's going to feel with my new mindset on love…_

I lean back against the deck chair holding a tanning mirror up. But, in truth, I'm writing in my diary.

Most of the kids are lounging in the pool, playing pool volleyball. Carter still wasn't out and about, so all I could do was sulk and act like I was getting a tan.

"What are you doing?" asks Carter, in a shirt and swim shorts.

"Tanning," I lie.

He laughs.

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard. For one, you're in all your clothes. And, you have a book in your lap."

I blush.

"So, what are you reading?"

"I'm not going to tell you," I say.

He blinks and then he begins trying to wrestle my diary away from me.

"No!" I wail.

"C'mon, Mouse, let me see it," he protests.

"No," I repeat.

"What's so embarrassing that you can't let me read it? Your diary?" he asks.

I blush. He freezes.

"You have a diary?" he asks, "Can I read it? Please?"

I kick him the moment he lets go. He topples backwards and lands in the pool with a spectacular splash.

He climbs out, sopping wet. Everyone stares as he starts laughing. Then, I join him. Then Walt calls us idiots and starts laughing too. Felix just stares at us as everyone begins to laugh.

He slowly pulls off his shirt. My breath catches in my chest as I give him a one-over. He looks so… _hot_ then, I forget who he is to me.

He tosses it aside and calls Walt.

Walt climbs out of the pool and then they walk over, to my deck chair.

I sit up straight. Not only did I feel really awkward being surrounded by two _hot_ shirtless guys, Sadie and Zia were giving me the evil eye.

"You're getting me wet!" I complain.

"You know, that's a great idea," Carter says, smirking.

I become pale.

"No-" I begin.

"That's a genius idea, Carter," Walt replies, "But I think she'd kill us if we destroyed those shoes."

"Good point. So…"

They point at me in unison and I'm in a one-piece swimsuit. They overturn the deck chair, making me fall over. Walt grabs my arms, Carter grabs my legs and they walk closer to the pool.

"NO!" I wail.

They begin swinging me side to side. I grip on to their shorts, terrified.

They throw me in and I drag them in with me.

We all fall in the pool with a tremendous splash.

We surface, just as the other kids start jumping in. Felix, Tucker, Shelby… then Julian and Jaz, Cleo and Alyssa…

More people continue to jump in the pool when Bast comes out.

"What is- _argh!" _she shrieks.

She realizes that everyone is inside the pool and Phillip the croc is waddling free.

"Get out of the pool!" she begs.

"She's a cat- she can't come in," Carter points out, laughing.

I pull his ankle and swim away from him.

"Why you little-?" he begins, swimming after me.

I stick my tongue out at him. Then someone pulls on my ankle.

I go down and when I kick back up, Walt and Carter are hi-fiving each other.

We begin laughing our heads off.

I smile at the two boys. If only life could go on like this forever…

A true hero never gets a happy ending. I know for a fact I'll never get mine.

The three of us go out to pick up some pizza.

I tell them about the time I was trying to impress a guy in school;

"I was ten," I begin.

Walt pauses and looks at me.

"Go on," he urges.

Carter bites into his pizza, but spits it out.

"Too hot!" he wails.

I ignore him.

"It was gym class. He had long eyelashes and perfect brown eyes…"

"Gee, Mouse, you're becoming like Sadie when she's talking about a guy," Carter remarks.

Walt swats his head, looking pretty pissed.

"Sorry," Carter says.

"Anyways, I thought I was in love. So, back then, we started wearing gym skirts instead. I was the only girl smart enough to wear tights under. The rest of the love-struck idiots didn't wear them. But I did!

"Then, I wanted to show off my physical prowess, by doing full squats and stuff-"

"Man, that sounds dumb," Walt says.

I glare at him, taking a bite of the steamy pizza.

"I was 10!"

"That's not a good explanation," Carter chimes in.

"Sorry to break up the bonding moment, but dudes, do you want me to tell you or not?"

"Please do," they say in unison.

"So, I decided to show off and I dropped it like it was hot, then…"

I look away and finish the story.

"My tights ripped."

They burst into laughter at my pain. I shake my head and nod at Walt.

"Your turn," I say.

"Okay, so I was 11," he begins, inhaling his pizza slice and going for another, "I was playing a kissing game with kids in my class. So, I ended up having to make out with this girl like 6 feet tall. And, back in sixth grade, I was 4ft 11". So, I had to stand on a chair to reach her face. Then, when she stuck her tongue in my mouth-"

"You what?" I ask.

"Took her gum?" Carter asks.

"Inhaled her stinky breath and asked her to buy mouthwash?"

"Asked her if she stuck her tongue in dog poo?"

"Went crazy and-"

"Don't finish that," he warns me, "I bit her tongue."

We keep quiet as that hits us.

"Ew…" I say.

"Carter?" Walt asks.

He goes under the table and begins reciting his tale in a monotone.

"I was in Hawaii with my dad. I found a coconut bra. I put it on. I put on a hula skirt and began singing. Long story short, my dad came in with another lecturer and I got into so much trouble."

He comes out, looking relieved.

"Only Sadie knew that," he confides in us conspiratorially.

"You told her?" I ask.

He chuckles.

"I forgot you came this week," he says, "I'll give you the book later."

"Okay, then. Let's just finish our pizza and get out of here before Zia and Sadie come, trying to destroy my beautiful face."

"Objection!" both boys yell.

"The beautiful part of the destroying part?" I ask.

"The beautiful part," Walt replies. I hit him.

We finish our pizza and head back home. Then, when we're turning the corner, we hear a blast.

"What was that?" I ask.

"Only one way to find out," Walt replies.

We begin running towards the warehouse. I can hear the people screaming as we run up the stairs.

We reach the door and everything goes eerily quiet.

Carter slowly opens the door and freezes.

"What?" I ask, stepping closer.

I freeze as well, when I see the state of the initiates and Bast.

"They already attacked…" I whispered.

Carter turns to me, face red.

"Why didn't you see it?" he screams.

"I don't see everything," I say meekly.

"I hate you!"

He throws himself on the ground and begins crying. I see Zia and I feel bad too. I snatched Carter away from her. And now, she was like this…

When he finally stops crying, I put my hand on his shoulder.

He doesn't throw me off. I take that to be a good sign.

"If it soothes the pain, I have a plan," I say.

"What?"

"We'll need a car, two backpacks and my pent shots," I say. Raising my chin, and striking a pose, I add, "We're going to Minnesota."

"Why?" asks Walt.

"_We_ are going to find Wendigo."

And with that, I join them on the floor and wonder why I suddenly feel like I have the sky on my shoulders.


	6. High Speed Car Chases Are Overrated

**Sup guys! Did you miss me? Did you Did you?**

**Judging from the lack of enthusiastic responses, you didn't.**

**So here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter VI: High Speed Car Chases Are Definitely Overrated.

"I'm in," Walt says suddenly, looking at me.

Carter turns towards him.

"No!" he barks suddenly.

"Carter…" I begin softly, putting my hand on his arm.

He throws it off.

"Carter, calm down!"

"Walt can't come with us on a quest!"

"Why?" I demand.

"Because… because… because…"

"Because I'm dying," Walt says softly, looking down.

I look at his hunched form.

Carter nods.

"Walt's cursed. The more he uses magic…" he begins.

"The earlier his death comes," I finish, looking at Walt. I couldn't picture leaving him behind, with all these Sleeping Beauties crashed out on the floor. I knew we had to take Walt along. Besides, who else will tell Carter to zip it when he begins to drone on about some boring piece of architecture? It definitely would not be me. I have no tact when it comes to telling people to _shut up_.

"Carter, we need Walt," I say.

He looks at me. He's battling with himself right now. I cross my fingers and pray to any god who was actually listening to me that Carter would see the truth.

"Fine," he says, "Let's check around for anyone who is awake, and then we'll take a Duat ride to Minnesota."

"Dude, if you don't remember, the three of us are probably Public Enemies 1, 2 and 3," Walt says, point at me, Carter and himself in quick succession. "So, it'd be a better idea to use a car."

Carter grins.

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

Walt looks confused and then his brow clears. Then he grins too.

"Yeah, it does."

"What?" I ask, confused.

They turn to me, looking a bit insane. I inch away on my butt involuntarily.

"We get to use Amos' Bugatti!"

"Boys," I groan, "Let's grab backpacks and put what we need inside them."

I hurry upstairs to my room and pull out my newly mended backpack from the closet. I put my laptop and modem inside my backpack, along with two clean pairs of clothes. I put my wallet in the secret compartment and then begin hunting for my toothbrush. I find it and then I hear Walt scream in un-manliest way possible.

I jump down half of the stairs and lose my balance. I hit my face on the ground and I get up groaning. Walt is screaming in the living room.

"What happened?" I hear Carter yell, running in from the other door.

He whistles and says two words that I never expected him to say.

"Holy. Horus."

I come in and realize what happened.

"Bast?" I ask, staring at the blue orb entrapping the cat goddess. She opens her eyes slowly and sees us. She hammers against the orb's clear walls with increasing franticness. She motions at us. The bad thing is; none of us understand what she is saying. The boys look as clueless as I do. Exasperated, the goddess pulls out a marker-pen and whiteboard out of thin air. She writes something and then turns it to us. No matter how bad her handwriting is; it's obvious what she wrote: **_RUN._**

A familiar cackle rises behind us. Once again, the shadows of the room begin to bunch themselves together at the corner.

"Keket," I whisper.

We turn around and begin running out of the house.

_"__Why so afraid? You're not brave enough to face me?" _she asks, her voice approaching from everywhere.

"I am, but I'm smart enough not to!" I yell.

_"__This is silly. The only house you've ever had is cursed. The only true friend you've ever had is dead. Your parents are gone. You can't even call these two idiots your friends. Why do you continue to run? Why do you continue to escape? Why do you continue to hope? Why don't you do what humans are best at- lie down and die?"_

I face her and glare.

"Because without hope, I'm nothing but a shell," I snarl, "Hope is what makes us who we are. It gives us a chance to change, a chance to live, a chance to be ourselves and not monsters like you gods."

She forms in front of me and looks at me, interested.

"So that's what you think of us gods- to be behemoths."

I'm buying time for the others, so I continue, slowly pulling out my shears out of my belt loop.

"If behemoth means monster, I guess so," I reply.

She smirks at my pair of shears.

"Darling, you couldn't even hit me with that," she says.

I snarl.

"Come at me, Miss Cook," I growl.

"Lame!" coughs Carter.

I glare at him.

"Shove a sock in it, Pup," I reply.

Keket strikes with a burst of darkness. I duck away and blow a raspberry. She smiles indulgently and counts to five using her fingers. Then the darkness hits the small of my back and knocks me over. Keket rises, hands smoking with the darkness. She steps toward me and then she sends a concentrated beam, right where my heart would be. I lift up my hands to protect myself and then Hathor is such a doll and helps. Pink smoke trails from my fingers and forms a beam, meeting Keket's. Keket uses her brute force against me, trying to destroy my beam. Hathor and I, we force the beam back by simply using the power of insistence. It was love against darkness, despair against hope, us against her…

"What _is_ this pink stuff?" she asks.

"The power of hope, Pigeon Head!" I yell, blasting the 'pink stuff' at her face. It startles her and she topples over. I jump to my feet and begin doing my victory dance.

Carter groans and lunges his arms around my neck. He drags me down the five remaining staircases. Keket soon regains her feet, so she flies after us, yelling a blue streak as she blasts at us with the darkness. Carter has pretty good reflexes for such a lanky dude.

I take that back, because we trip and fall on the last step. I realize that his hands are on me and it feels nice. Fearing my sanity, I roll over and begin doing the crab-walk in the middle of the street. One of Keket's darkness beams hits my ankle. A shadowy hand forms and grips me as she lands and walks toward me. I envy her beauty and her killer fashion sense as she struts. Her impeccable hair was done today, in a simple chignon. Her lips were dark red and her nails seemed longer. If she had a theme song, it'd be _Flawless _by Beyoncé. I could almost hear her saying 'she woke up like this'. Just the thought of Keket, hater of any whose life span was shorter than infinity, singing this song, is enough to make me laugh in her face.

She pauses, obviously disturbed by the sound of my laughter. She alights her hands with (or darkens her hands with, depending on how accurate you want to be) the darkness and steps closer.

"Any last words, mortal?" she asks.

I'm about to say something witty like 'Did you wake up like this?' then sully her dress, but then I hear a familiar whine.

"Yeah, Pigeon Head! Kiss burning tires!" I yell.

"What the-?" she begins. But the rest of the sentence is blurred out when Walt runs her over with the red Bugatti.

"That," I reply, climbing on top of the hood, jumping over the windshield and sitting in shotgun next to Walt.

"Get in, Carter!" he yells.

Carter sits up and groans when he realizes I'm in shotgun.

"This is why Walt is cooler than you, Pup," I say, as if it was very important, "He can drive!"

"I can drive, Mouse," he says, sulking as he climbs into the back, "You'd be able to see my driving skills if Walt wasn't so stingy with the wheel!"

Walt sticks his tongue at Carter through the mirror. Then he revs up and runs Keket over, twice, for good luck. Then he speeds off, cackling while he does so. I shake my head and whistle at his bravery. Walt is brave. Truly, he is. It takes a lot of bravery to run over a woman like Keket, especially when she's hot like that.

"It seems like someone's being upgraded from Public Enemy No.3 to Public Enemy No.2," I say dryly.

He chuckles at my comment and then looks at Carter in the mirror.

"Hey, Carter, look, the dice have your and Kayla's initials!" he says.

I look at the dice hanging on the mirror.

"Hey! It does say CK!" I say.

Carter blushes.

"Those are my initials, you idiots," he snarls.

Walt and I make faces at him.

"Poor Carter," Walt says, "He can't help but lie about the initials too."

"Indeed," I say.

Carter looks at us, horrified.

"Who are you and what have you guys done to my friends?"

We burst into nervous laughter as Walt speeds us into Manhattan. Keket, however, is _such_ a party pooper. Seriously, she just had to come on her cool motorbike and ruin the moment. Fine, I have to admit, it _was _sorta my fault. I mean, I _was _the one who grabbed the wheel and jerked sideways.

Keket nearly crashes into a wall, but she does a wheelie and returns. Walt jerks me off the wheel and we do an 180˚ spin. He hits the accelerator and has us hurtling through the nearly empty streets. I brace myself against the dashboard as he does some crazy stuff not even the dude from GTA would attempt even when he was drunk. This crazy stuff includes cruising at 90 mph, while on two wheels. It beats falling-out-of-the-sky-while-you're-still-on-a-jet crazy.

We lose Keket around Central Park. I allow myself to relax and take my face off the dashboard. Walt slows down, cruising down the street. Carter lets go of the seat cushions and we exhale together. But, of course, our relief was too early. Quickly, the shadows begin collecting behind us. Carter notices this in the rearview mirror and points it out.

"Not you again," he groans, "Why can't we have normal monsters to defeat instead of you? You're really getting on my nerves now."

_"Your wish is my desire, darling," _she says, _"A monster is what you want, a monster is what you'll get it."_

The shadows form a pack of hounds. They have sleek black fur, shimmering with silver and pointed ears. Their bushy tails are thick and lustrous, their fangs as long as my hand, and their eyes ruby red. They eye us hungrily. Walt glares at Carter through the mirror- I do suppose that this _is_ his fault.

"Kayla, you drive, I'll fight-" Walt begins.

"No!" Carter and I both shout. We look at each other warily and then I continue.

"Pup and I will fight. You, shut up and drive!"

I clamber to the backseats and unloop my shears from my belt. I dig into my pocket and find the Ribbons of Hathor. Carter nods approvingly.

"Hit the accelerator," Carter growls.

I nearly fall over the moment Walt speeds forward, but Carter steadies me immediately. We slash and chop at the dogs, momentarily subduing them. One gets too close to me, so the Ribbons act of their own accord and wrap themselves around the dog. It mummifies it and turns it quickly into black dust. Then they return to my hands, as quickly as they had left them in the first place.

"Show-off," Carter grunts, smiling, "You could have just said _Tas_, y'know?"

As soon as he says this, hieroglyphs shimmer in the air. It says _Tas _and then the Ribbons bind themselves to another dog and turn it to dust. He smiles at me making me feel awkward. I brush it off by stabbing one of the dogs in the eye. Walt swerves suddenly, knocking the two of us into each other. Carter falls on top of me and then, bursts of accidental magic go all over the place. We tumble around, trying to regain our feet. Finally, (with Walt yelling at us to get a room and this was no time to get kinky) we stand up and I accidentally knock a dog at two teens standing in front of Goode High. The boy yells out and pulls out a bronze sword, slicing the dog. It dissolves and becomes dust.

"Thanks!" I yell.

"Percy, we should help them!" says the blonde girl to Percy.

"Annabeth, with the speed they're moving at, they'll be in New Jersey in half an hour. We'll never keep up with them. Oh my gods, they have a Bugatti! Annabeth, they have a Bugatti! I want a Bugatti!"

"Walt, we're going in the wrong direction!" Carter yells. Walt spins around and runs the dogs open. Annabeth and Percy clean up after our remains.

"They're pretty good fighters," Annabeth says, "Probably Ares kids or something."

"Whatever. I want a Bugatti!" Percy says.

"You idiot," Annabeth chuckles fondly.

Carter takes my spot next to Walt. I sink into comfortable seat and sigh. I'm just praying the rest of the trip doesn't turn out like this. It would make it unbearable. I pull my laptop out of my backpack. It'll pay to do some research on Wendigo.

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**There's the chapter! I just had to include Percabeth in this chapter. I might make a small scene in Percy's POV, but no guarantees. I might not be able to update until November because of school opening soon. I'll try to update. And meanwhile, guess what they will find out from Wendigo. One thing's for sure- mytholgies should _not_ mix under any circumstances. I'll be throwing in some mythologies you've heard but probably don't know so well.**

**See you as soon as possible. Until then, Arinum A is OUT!**


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